


Did you forget my promise?

by Pyromilka



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, M/M, New Years, Past Character Death, Whump, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28549440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pyromilka/pseuds/Pyromilka
Summary: And sometimes, the loneliness just gets too much, it crawls into your bones and fills you up on the inside, it makes you forget everything around you - and it makes you so blind to the obvious.
Kudos: 1





	Did you forget my promise?

"We wish you a merry Christmas…" 

The world's trailed off his lips, almost quietly enough to get drowned out by the snow crunching under his boots. Uncharacteristically quietly for him _. _

With his hand lightly brushing over the railing next to him, the freshly fallen snow collected in a heap, until softly, and without the slightest noise, part fell to the ground before his feet - part mixed with the lazily twindling snowflakes on the other side, falling down to eventually, after many more meters, meet the river that was calmly flowing underneath the bridge he was walking on. The cold was numbing his fingers, let them feel stiff and frozen - though it was little contrast anymore to how the snow had seeped through the few layers he was wearing, which were now almost painfully scrubbing against his clammy skin. 

"...we wish you a merry Christmas…"

The sky hung above him like a black curtain, stars invisible behind a thick layer of low hanging clouds. His surroundings only dimly illuminated by sparsely put up street lights, he now focused on the small clouds of warm air escaping with each shuddering breath in between the lines of the song. The song that wouldn't leave his mind, even though Christmas was long over. In case one would call a week a long time, that was. 

He paused longer before continuing this time, rubbing his soaked sleeve over his eyes to clear his vision from the tears he'd been struggling harder to hold back the further he got out of town. 

"......we wish you a merry Christmas……"

He stopped, heavily leaning onto the wooden beams stopping him from falling into the water underneath. If he listened closely, he could hear people cheer on the streets and in their homes not far away - people celebrating with their friends, their families, he could see it before his inner eye. How they were standing close together, sparklers in one hand, a glass of sparkling wine in the other, laughing and joking, drunken giggles, slurred songs sung without an inch of shame on the old karaoke machine they only got down from the attic for this one particular time of the year. He could see children running around, stuffing themselves with sweets way past their normal bedtime, excited to see the big firework show later on. 

And he was none of those people. He was here, out in the cold, with no one by his side - Only the red jacket he was sure he could never let go off, the one thing he had left from who he held so dearly, but yet failed to protect, to give him the tiniest bit of warmth, a tiny feeling of being not so alone after all on this freezing night. A glance at the watch that was half hidden by his sleeve told him that it was exactly 23:53- No, 54. Six minutes until midnight, the point in time that was a new beginning for so many people, and yet just…another moment that had lost its spark to him. 

"...and a happy...new...year…"

His voice gave in, barely managed to pronounce the words - and his legs were soon to follow. With his back now turned against the barrier, he let himself slide down to the ground as gently as his jittering knees would allow - which admittedly wasn't a lot anymore. He more or less plummeted into the soft snow beneath, and though his breath caught for a moment from the impact and biting cold, he didn't make any moves to get back up again just now.

A tear fell. Hot in contrast to the seemingly never ending snow that kept on slowly and almost unnoticeably landing on him. Another tear, his breath caught once more. Before he knew it, his cheeks were covered in wet tracks, sobs now shaking his body more than the cold did before. He screwed his eyes shut in a weak attempt to stop, though as of now, there was no point in even attempting that. And so he let go. Let himself go limp, his hands fall beside him instead of tightly clenching them inside his pockets, his head onto his knees. Exposing himself to the cold and whatever poor sod would be crossing this exact bridge right now for reasons he couldn't imagine, as sob after sob wracked his body. 

In the distance, bells could be heard. Bells announcing midnight, the start of a new year. Behind him, the formerly dark sky went up in colorful lights, explosions and beautiful shine. He didn't want the new year to start just yet, was still too caught up in everything that happened last year. If he could just turn back the time…

He didn't realize how much the darkness had embraced him, how much it drowned out his surroundings, numbing him towards the noises, even the cold, until it was replaced by something else. Feather light touches he felt on his skin, touches that seemed to give of warmth that stayed even when the feeling moved somewhere else, along with a voice he found to be all too familiar, barely more than a soft gust of wind and yet so…comforting as it called out to him. 

It couldn't be. 

He lifted his head, free from the cold ache from before, and blinked - once, twice - until he met the eyes he loved looking into so much. Only faint, and yet giving off so much warmth, so much love, as much as barely anyone still among the living could show or even hold. He watched his lips move, though his voice seemed to come from somewhere else, somewhere deep in his mind. 

"...you forgot about my promise, didn't you?"

He tilted his head. Promise? The figure before him chuckled, resting a hand that felt like little more than a warm breath on his cheek. "Oh Loki, I knew you were forgetful…" A soft smile formed on his lips as he leaned forward and pulled him into an unreal hug. For a moment, time seemed to stand still. 

_ He felt himself standing on the very bridge he was on now, a warm breeze ruffling his hair as he let his gaze wander over the water, the sun that was slowly setting behind the town, down to the arm that was wrapped around his waist, then up to who it belonged to. He met those same warm eyes as just before, a more thoughtful expression in them now, only a thin smile on his lips. He tilted his head, as if trying to read what was going on in his mind at that very moment.  _

_ "...Knut?"  _

_ "Hm?"  _

_ "You know I love you, right?"  _

_ "...Of course I do. You know I do too, right?"  _

_ "You what? Love yourself, or me?"  _

_ He found the other’s expression to finally soften at his remark, a soft chuckle escaping him. "Take a wild guess.” _

_ He felt himself getting pulled closer to him. _

_ He didn’t expect him to continue. _

_ “No, I really do. I’m just not sure if I tell you often enough…” _

_ He looked back up at him, noticing that his gaze had wandered back away from him again.  _

_ “...but it’s something you can never forget. I love you, and I always will, and I’ll always stay with you, okay?” _

_ He blinked, caught off guard. _

_ “I promise I won’t leave you here alone, never. Whatever happens.”  _

_ “...don’t make promises you can’t keep-” _

_ “Don’t worry, I won’t.”  _

_ He met his eyes again. _

_ He found something so truthful, so...earnest in them - it made it hard for him to not believe a single word of what he was saying. _

_ He smiled.  _

_ He was happy, as happy as he could imagine to be then.  _

_ He found himself hugging him, burying his face in his jacket. _

_ He felt him pull him to his chest, pressing a soft kiss to the top of his head. _

_ He could remain like this forever. _

_ Until slowly, so slowly he started fading away, until last the warmth of the hug disappeared as well, and he was left with nothing to hold, only the old, faint feeling of a light touch. _

_ A touch that would soon turn very  _ very real.

There was a voice from outside, barely getting through the fog in his mind. A familiar voice. Not the one from just now, but not one he despised either - oh, by far not. There was a voice calling out his name, and it was coming closer. 

Opening his eyes had become a task harder than he could have anticipated, his lids heavy as lead - when had he even closed them in the first place? - and lifting his head seemed impossible as he felt aching and stiff all over from the cold that felt like it had reached his bones by now. How long had he been outside? How long had he been  _ out _ ? 

His mind in a haze almost impossible to get through, clouded by the remains of what he had just seen, just felt - the feather light touches that still seemed to linger on his cheek, his arms, the soft voice that wouldn't leave his mind - he barely registered someone grabbing his shoulders.

"Loki!" 

Once more he tried to lift his head to look at who was now kneeling before him, this time with more success as the person reached for his chin, gently tilting his head up to look at him. He found himself looking directly at Mikkel, whose brows were furrowed in worry, an unreadable expression in his eyes. A moment passed in silence as they exchanged glances, glances that held so much more than words could have expressed. 

No more than another moment later, Mikkel had already gotten out of his coat and draped it around Loki instead, and though it wasn't quite warm  _ enough _ yet, the nonetheless harsh contrast of the warm coat to his cold and clammy skin sent him shuddering.

"You dumbass, what's gotten into you…you could've caught death out here dressed like that." Though his tone was scolding, he failed to hide the obvious concern, as well as relief in his voice - No, no matter how much the way Loki had seemingly out of nowhere excused himself to get some fresh air earlier, and then just  _ not come back again,  _ had set him off, he couldn't be mad at him. Later, he was sure they'd have a word about this - He wouldn't have run off without reason, not like that after all - But for now,  _ why _ wasn't a priority. Not waiting for an answer, he easily and without facing resistance scooped Loki up in his arms, adjusting his coat to cover him all the way from shoulders to feet - not a difficult thing to do with how he immediately curled up against Mikkel's warm body, his face buried in the fabric of his sweater, making himself so small as the shivering returned and his hands stiffly,  _ desperately _ clung to whatever they could grab. In a way, he almost looked pathetic there.

Giving him another concerned glance, Mikkel sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of his head, barely batting an eye as he felt his soaked, frosty hair touch his nose. Instead, he put a hand up, covering his head from the yet continuously falling snow and cold air blowing over him as he slowly picked up his pace, only receiving a quiet, though content whimper in return. 

"...let's get you home, shall we?

… 

… 

…and don't ever do that again."


End file.
